From left to right: PJ (SCIFI member), five De Marillac Academy staff, Shashank Patil (SCIFI CPO)

Last Friday, December 15th, was an exciting day not only for Project SCIFI but a local San Francisco middle school as well. De Marillac Academy became the first school to receive Project SCIFI’s lab coats, goggles, and career books. The hard work and determination of our organization’s members have proven that Project SCIFI can achieve its mission and truly make a positive impact in the community. The following is a blurb from our Chief Executive Officer, Shashank Patil, and Team Member, PJ Kumar, who personally delivered these items to the school:

P: On Friday, Shashank and I completed our first sponsorship of lab supplies to De Marillac Academy, a middle school located in the Tenderloin District of San Francisco. We delivered forty lab coats, forty goggles, and four books entitled “Careers if You Like Science” to the school’s science program.

S: From the moment that PJ and I arrived at De Marillac, we were welcomed by a warm reception of administrators and faculty alike, who not only thanked us for all of our efforts, but even brought in some of their science students to meet us. I recall standing in one of their science classrooms, smiling uncontrollably, completely humbled by the fact that our efforts had materialized into the lab coats that the principal, teachers, students, and I were currently wearing. I kept repeating to those around me how grateful we were for their willingness to support our work and for their trust in our ability to deliver.

P: We were incredibly impressed by the passion and dedication the faculty showed towards educating their students. The school overall had an environment fit for making learning fun and engaging. We particularly remember talking to the science teacher in charge on how our donation will help accelerate their science program with a new range of interactive experiments.

S: As I drove home after the donation, I felt a sense of exhilaration as I realized how far we had come. Five months ago, Project SCIFI was nothing but an idea shared by some UCB students and recent alumni. Today, I realized that we had taken one firm step towards our goals of bringing lab supplies to schools in need and creating a visible community to support hands-on science education.

P & S: Looking forward, we are incredibly excited to continue building our relationship with their administrators, teachers, and students as we work to help them reinvigorate their curriculum to align with the Next Generation Science Standards and support their students’ abilities to excel in their science education.